William Diebold
RACINE, Wis. - An Oak Creek man is accused of driving drunk when he crashed into Racine's Olympia Brown Elementary School early Tuesday morning.
Charges filed
In Court:
Court records show William Diebold, 23, is charged with two misdemeanors in the case: obstructing an officer and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence. If convicted, it would be his second OWI offense.
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Diebold's bond was set at $1,000 on Wednesday. At the time of the crash, he was also on probation for a misdemeanor conviction in Ozaukee County.
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Car crashes into Racine school
A car crashed into Olympia Brown Elementary School in Racine early Tuesday morning, July 29.
Crash into school
The backstory:
Caledonia police were called to the scene at Olympia Brown Elementary School around 2:20 a.m. on Tuesday morning, July 29. A caller said she heard a "loud boom."
The car crashed through an exterior wall of the school and into a classroom, causing damage to an adjacent classroom in the process. The car came to a rest roughly 470 feet from the roadway.
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A criminal complaint states officers found two people standing outside the car. One of those people, Diebold, approached officers and said he "crashed into the building" – adding that he was "not paying attention" and "driving stupidly." An officer noted Diebold had "glassy eyes, slightly slurred speech, and an odor of intoxicants emanating from his breath."
Prosecutors said Diebold then explained he "had a couple of shots" a few hours earlier and estimated he was driving 50-60 mph on Novak Road when he lost control and crashed. The speed limit is 25 mph.
Car crashes into Racine school
After field sobriety tests indicated impairment, court filings said a preliminary breath test determined Diebold was over the legal limit. He was then placed under arrest.
During the investigation, the complaint said Diebold told officers there was no passenger in the car, and the passenger airbag went off because he had items "weighing about 50 to 60 pounds" on his passenger seat. Investigators later determined he did have a passenger in the car, and that passenger later confirmed she was in the car and had minor injuries.
The Source: FOX6 News referenced information from the Caledonia Police Department, Racine County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court for this story.